Dragon Age : Deceleration
by Earthsire
Summary: On the eve of a beautiful day, Kye Tamm witnesses a tornado that erupts from the sky. With it, comes the dawning of her awakening, beginning with her death. When she wakes up, she finds herself transported to a world unlike her own; the world of Thedas, the world of Dragon Age. But she isn't the only one. Almost a hundred other humans have been sucked into the chaos with her...
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **On the eve of a beautiful day, Kye Tamm witnesses a tornado that erupts from the sky. With it, comes the dawning of her awakening, beginning with her death. When she wakes up, she finds herself transported to a world unlike her own; the world of Thedas, the world of Dragon Age. But she isn't the only one. Almost a hundred other humans have been sucked into the chaos with her...

**Disclaimer: **I don't work for Bioware (Boohoo) nor do I own Dragon Age (Doi) but I DO own this story, and its characters. Or at least most of its characters. Many (if not all) of the characters mentioned are my real life friends. And many (if not all) of the relations and events and drama that's mentioned are real. Just sayin (teehee).

**Notes: **So this takes place before Inquisition. Let's say... This is MY version of Inquisition. I had this whole idea of the sky being torn apart, and a tornado sucking everyone into it, since BEFORE Inquisition. I'm only posting it now because I didn't have the passion to continue it before. So please don't think this is a rip-off or anything. So yes, the Inquisition never takes place. Instead, this happens.

Thank you to those who're reading this! I've been really into this concept since I continued it after so long. I really hope I stick with this one.

Cheers!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Marsha and Hannah are sitting just beside Evelyn, with all three of them hunched over Marsha's phone. Apparently a picture of a puppy riding on a polar bear's back is extremely intriguing. Kye Tamm is not as easily taken. She places her drawing books into her desk, and stands up to make her way out of the classroom. It feels too crowded all of a sudden. Especially with Michelle and Uzair sitting not too far beside her, making conversation and flashing charming smiles at each other. She doesn't care for them. But the wound's still a little fresh. Even though it's been a year. Idiot.

She's just about to cross the classroom threshold when Marsha calls out to her.

"Kye! Look at this!"

Of course, she can't refuse. Her two close friends, and one especially best friend, are coaxing her into being a frilly girl for a few seconds. She doesn't want to oblige. But, she can't refuse.

She makes her way to them, forcing on the best smile she can, and leans forward to inspect the phone.

Oh dear, that picture is rather hilarious.

It isn't of a dog on a polar bear anymore.

It's a candid shot of Evelyn's oblivious face. They must've taken it when she wasn't looking. Smart.

She flicks a glance at Evelyn, before smirking towards the other two's direction.

"You should send that to AJ."

Evelyn gasped. "Hell no!"

AJ. The new kid. Well, kind of. He transferred in this year. Not new. But new enough to be considered new. He's a pimp. A gangster. A guy who's probably handled a gun before. He's two years older. He stayed back in this grade.

Evelyn's ex.

Kye never knew what Evelyn saw in that douche. He's definitely not a gentleman, has no social graces whatsoever, and ditches classes ninety-two percent of the time. He isn't even that good-looking. Plus, he's short. That's a huge downer. But then again, Kye holds a bar to the people she finds interesting (despite falling in love with almost anyone who seems interested in her).

Kye looks at the door. "I have to use the loo."

"I'll come with."

"You don't have to."

Evelyn pulls a face. "I need to use the loo too, you know?"

Sure. Kye restrains herself from rolling her eyes, and vouches for her signature smirk instead. As Evelyn brushes past her, she turns just slightly to give her two friends last glances before heading off.

Then she joins Evelyn by the corridor and the two make their way down to the bathroom.

"I know why you left the classroom."

Kye keeps her voice steady. "Yeah. I needed to piss."

"No," Evelyn shoots her a knowing look. "Michelle and Uzair—"

"I do _not_ need to hear this from you." With a shove, Kye marches ahead. She hears Evelyn's childish laugh, and sneers.

They reach the toilet soon enough, and the two enter different stalls in unison. Kye can't help but think back to the time when she still liked Uzair. She can't help but also think back to the time when she was dating Michelle.

Twist.

Kye used to like Uzair.

Before that, Kye dated Michelle.

Now Uzair and Michelle are dating. And Kye's left in the dust like some fat wannabe singer. She breathes out a silent sigh, and shakes her head. What a messed up triangle. Doesn't matter. She leaves the stall soon, and washes her hands before joining the already-finished Evelyn outside.

"Took you long enough. Did you shit?"

Kye's expression turns sour. "Ew! Gross and personal much? Did _you_ shit? Gosh!"

Evelyn laughs loudly. "No, I didn't! But y'know, good to know you didn't either."

Kye purses her lips, rolls her eyes and walks off.

"Let's go."

Evelyn follows her, still laughing to herself.

Geez.

* * *

><p>Kye stares out at the sky. Class is so boring. It's not fun to be a teenager stuck in a classroom with a boring teacher explaining the laws of electromagnets and whatever. Science, Kye thought, has always been an interesting subject to her. But sometimes it gets way too technical and way too unfriendly for her sad little mind. She can't help but not be interested. So instead she stares out the window, thinking about everything and nothing. Thinking about her games, more so. She's a gamer, yes. Quite an avid one too. As you can maybe already tell, Kye is a rather masculine girl. More masculine than feminine. More brawn than petite.<p>

One of her personal favorite games just happens to be Dragon Age. It comes right next to Mass Effect. They both score equally to her chart. Either way, they're both brilliant games, and she's memorized both almost fluidly. She looks down at her empty notebook. Notes. Teacher hasn't given them yet. But she's sure to do so in the next few minutes.

What a bore.

Dragon Age.

She wonders how it'd be like.

To be in a world like Thedas.

With magic and Templars and war and Qunari.

Oh, Qunari's. Man, they are awesome. They're her personal favorite. Considering the fans know so little about them, the air of mystique just makes them even more alluring.

Kye ducks her head in between her arms and buries it. She just wants to drift off into unconsciousness for now. Evelyn is talking to Hannah. Marsha's paying attention to class. And Uzair, despite sitting right next to her, feels like he's a million miles away.

Somehow, she just feels so alone.

* * *

><p>She doesn't remember what she dreamt about. Maybe Dragon Age? Maybe Mass Effect. Maybe the next Saints Row game. She remembers one thing though—Evelyn was in it. And she was pretty badass too. Waving around some kind of staff with glowing red eyes and a creepy glare. Something about that is completely off. Evelyn is in no way intimidating. She's petite, submissive and she teared once because Hannah held her wrist too tight. Why would she be intimidating?<p>

But anyways, Kye doesn't remember anything else besides that.

But that doesn't really concern her.

Because what she sees when she wakes up,

Is pure chaos.

"Kye! Get up!"

She shoots up instantly, causing the chair she was sitting on to fall backwards behind her. The noise doesn't much attention, however, because everyone's too focused on the tornado ripping the ground outside.

Wait, what—

Her gaze flickers to the back door. Evelyn. Hannah. Marsha. They're all staring. Wide-eyed, with frightened expressions. Kye grits her teeth together and rushes towards them.

Bad mistake.

The wind throws a chair across the room, smacking Kye right in the head. She falls onto the ground, and Uzair notices.

He races to her, and bends down where she is. Before he even asks if she's alright, another gust of wind knocks the chair just a few inches from Kye's body. Uzair catches it before it smashes her face in.

"Kye!" He exclaims, throwing the chair away. He shakes her arm. No response. "Hey!" No response.

"Shit." He stands up and looks around to find the teacher. Where is she? She's gone. Crap, this is hell! As he lowers his gaze once again, he notices Kye's eyelids flutter. Just slightly.

"Kye?"

She's moving her lips. Mumbling something.

She opens an eye, and stares up at him. "Woah." Weak voice. She's obviously not aware of her surroundings.

Uzair bends down again, and attempts to put her arm over his shoulder. "We need to get out of here." He says. "There's a tornado coming."

"Tornado? That's impossible."

They both stand up, with Kye being far too weak to support casually.

"Where is everyone?"

"They're gone. Madame Chong must've led them somewhere."

Must've. Or else where could they have gone?

They both make their way to the door, and then out to the corridor. This weather is worse than Kye thought. When she looks up at the grey sky, with barely enough sunlight to decipher the whole thing, it almost looks as if... Something is tearing the sky apart.

What is happening?

From the corner of her eye, she sees something from the other class.

She unhooks her arm over Uzair's shoulder. "You have to go on ahead!"

Uzair doesn't oblige. "What are you talking about? We both have to go _now._"

"You go!"

"No, are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you!"

Kye glares and says, "Go! Get yourself to damn safety and find Michelle. She's waiting for you."

She walks away without hearing Uzair's response. She doesn't want to be 'that girl'. That spiteful girl who doesn't care about other people's feelings, who charges into blind danger without thought of her own well being and the feelings of others. She's considered a fairly nice person. But she can't stand being around him anymore. Seeing him with Michelle has made her a bad person. Jealousy. Human instinct. Even at a time of a crisis. She shoves the guilt off her shoulders, and quickly burst through the class next to hers. There, struggling with two chairs interlocked between her foot, keeping her at place, is Shereen Suhaili. Kye's bro. Best friend. Also occasional acting buddy. Fellow gamer.

She was left behind.

"Shereen!" Kye pushes past the fallen tables until she's by Shereen's side.

"Help me out!" Her voice, clear of her usual enthusiasm, is gaspy and fearful.

Kye quickly unlocks the chairs from each other's grasps, and pulls Shereen away.

"What happened?"

"They left. They—They didn't come back for me."

Of course they didn't. During a disaster, survival is priority. Self-centered emotions. Human instinct.

"Let's get out of here." Kye drapes Shereen's arm over her shoulder, and, imitating Uzair's movements, stands up. They both make their way out.

"I can walk." Shereen whispers, managing herself on both legs. Kye nods, and the two run towards the stairs.

As soon as they turn the corner, they see their classmates. Not just their classmates. But the whole school, in fact. They're all huddled together in a massive human traffic jam. Pushing, shoving, trying their hardest to make it down without being blown away by the tornado. Survival, no matter the cost. Human instinct.

Kye looks back, before searching the crowd for her friends. Precisely two seconds later, she sees Hannah's familiar face. They're safe. Thank God.

"Kye, what happened to your head?"

"What?"

"It's bruised."

"Oh." Kye purses her lips together. "Got hit by a chair."

Madame Chong spots the two, and frantically waves them over. Kye looks back once more. They have no choice. There is no back way. The gates are locked. The only way down is through these stairs.

No. The gate might not be locked. Kye slips past Shereen, without her noticing, and runs opposite the way she was originally headed towards.

She holds onto the railing to keep the wind from throwing her off like a rag doll. After it passes, she continues on her way towards the back stairs, where the gates are most probably locked. But she has to check it out. It's better than being just another one of those animals. Pushing, shoving, jumping their way down like wild beasts. Humanity can be a scary thing sometimes.

She turns the corner, and her heart lifts. It's open!

"Kye!"

She turns her head. Evelyn and Michelle are running towards her. Wait.

Michelle?

"What the hell are you doing?" Michelle's voice is as sharp as ever. Demanding and aggressive. Like Kye's always known her to be.

Kye avoids direct eye contact.

Two seconds later, Michelle sneers. "Stop ignoring me! This is serious!"

_Serious. Like when you broke my heart?_

_No, Kye, that's petty. Goddamnit, there's a tornado and you're thinking about that now?_

Kye doesn't respond. She shifts her gaze to Evelyn.

"What're you doing here?" Evelyn takes the initiative.

"I was hoping the gate would be open. I—"

"Idiot. The tornado's coming from this direction. If we try to go down from here, we could get blown away."

"The main stairs are blocked. We can't get through with a machete and bulldozer."

"No." Evelyn says. "But it's the only way."

Bullshit. Kye finally looks at Michelle.

Does she look hurt?

"I'm not waiting around there just to get blown away by the tornado. I'm getting down here."

Evelyn slaps Kye on the chest. "Don't be stupid!"

A figure appears just behind Evelyn and Michelle. It appears so suddenly Kye's momentarily stunned. She can't even react in time as the mysterious figure draws a blade from their cloak, pushes past the two girls and stabs Kye in the stomach. The grueling red liquid drips out of her body, onto the blade and pools all over the ground. And then in a blink of an eye, the figure disappears.

Kye drops to the ground, gripping her abdomen with her right hand. Evelyn's first to react. She screams. Michelle joins her not a second later.

"Oh god, Kye!" She bends down to try and take a look at the wound. But Kye's crouching position makes it almost impossible. All she can see is blood. "Kye, move your hand!"

She can't move. She can't even shake her head. Every nerve in her body is frozen up. She's too surprised. Too stunned. She doesn't know how to move.

"She's in shock, Evelyn. We have to help her!"

"How?!"

How, indeed. How do you help one who's just been stabbed? In normal circumstances, you can call the ambulance. But unfortunately, with this tornado drawing near, local authorities aren't going to be much help.

Kye looks past the steel railing beside her, through the gaps and down to the road and field below. She can catch a figure walking solemnly towards the field, with their hand outstretched, still holding onto that bloody dagger. She can feel the stingy pain in her stomach from where she was brutally stabbed. But everything stops, even the pain, once this figure pauses, turns around and looks up.

Her hair is of a dark ebony colour, with only a few grey strands. Her face, clear of any bruises or dark marks, is refined beautifully, with only a few wrinkles below her eyes and above her eyebrows. Her lips, full and soft and peach, are curled into an almost satisfied smile. She locks gazes with Kye. And time stops.

Morrigan.

Morrigan's here.

No, impossible.

No, this can't be happening. Morrigan is a fictional character made for the Dragon Age franchise, she can't possibly be in the real world!

Do Kye's eyes deceive her?

Could her pain and shock be playing tricks in her mind?

There is only one way to find out.

She stands up, feeling time regaining its usual tempo once again. The figure turns around and continues on her way towards the field. But Kye's determined to stop her.

Ignoring Michelle and Evelyn's protests, she pushes past the now half-closed gate and hobbles down the stairs, gritting her teeth together to keep from shouting out from the pain. Damn, this really is worse than food poisoning. She can hear her two friends' footsteps behind her, but she heeds no mind to them. She just _needs_ to get down there. After registering an image like that, it's hard to tell the lines between fantasy and reality. She can't tell if her friends are calling out to her. Maybe her ears are numb, or blocked, or maybe the blood has all but spilled out of her wound. Whatever it is, she's not letting that stop her. She continues down until, finally, she manages to stumble her way to main ground.

"Kye!"

She regains her hearing. A sharp pull on her elbow causes her to wince and turn around. Michelle's glaring at her and Evelyn looks about ready to cry.

"What the hell?!" Michelle screams.

How can Kye respond? How can Kye explain that there is a fictional character from a video game come to life here in their school? She knows she's running straight towards the tornado, she knows she's risking her own life and theirs and she knows her friends are just worried for her. Worry. The same kind of worry that attacked her when Michelle started dating Uzair. She shakes her head.

"You don't understand." Her lips are numb, and she's finding it troublesome to open her eyes. Is she losing too much blood?

"No, _you_ don't understand. If we don't go _now, _we are going to _die._" The way Michelle's talking makes Kye feel like a little girl. She hates it.

"Then go." She pulls her elbow away, forcefully enough to escape Michelle's vice grip, and turns around. She continues on her way, ignoring the guilt that had rose in her chest after seeing her friends' speechless and slightly judgmental expressions.

Life is at a turn-point currently.

Kye's halfway to the field.

But she can feel the warm, sticky substance drip away by her forearm. She's losing a lot of blood.

Her consciousness is starting to waver.

And her grip on reality is looser than ever.

Maybe she really did just imagine Morrigan. Maybe Morrigan isn't here at all. Maybe she's walking towards the tornado, leaving her friends behind at a potential threat of being whisked away and killed.

She swallows. It's too late to turn back now. Whatever the outcome of this drastic reaction is, she has to live with the consequences.

In the distance, she can just barely see a lone figure standing in the middle of the field. The figure isn't doing anything. She's just standing, with the dagger nowhere to be seen. Kye trips her way past the side-walk, and then takes a small but undeniably painful leap over the large drain, before stumbling her way, once more, towards Morrigan. She can feel herself falling. Her knees are shaky, her vision is blurry and she can barely keep herself together.

The closer she gets, the more she sees. Morrigan isn't just standing there. She's chanting. She's reading out words from a book that looks to be a thousand years old, with her hand waving at the air, and the dagger from before planted steadily on the ground. The whole position just looks too familiar.

She's casting a spell.

Kye reaches out, her fingers shaky, in an attempt to stop her. For a moment, she looks close enough to succeed. But then darkness overtakes her. Her knees give away, and her body falls flatly onto the ground.

She can barely breathe. The sun barely feels hot on her exposed back. And the grass below her doesn't tickle her like before. She can't feel anything. She can't hear anything. The only thing she can hear is the sound of her own fading heartbeat. Drifting off, ever so slowly. Is this the end? Is she going to die here? In school, of all places! She wants to smile. To laugh. But she can't. She can only lie there, breathing in the scent of dirt and grass and metallic blood. She is immobile. But she can still see.

Morrigan has stopped chanting. She closes the book and places it on the ground. Kye can just barely catch the satisfied smile on her radiant face. She places both hands on the dagger's handle, gripping it tightly, and bows her head down as if she's praying. Seconds later, she thrusts the dagger into the air, ripping it out of the ground and sending it flying upwards. And that's when Kye sees it. The second she raises her gaze just slightly, she sees it.

The sky is being torn apart.

And it looks all too familiar.

Because this sight was in Dragon Age, and Kye knows it instantly.

The Veil is torn.

She gasps, her sight fading quickly, like a terrified butterfly. The world swims around her, and as she takes her last breath and listens to her last heartbeat, the last thing that she sees, clear as day, is Morrigan's twisted and hauntingly beautiful grin. And then, seconds later,

The darkness overwhelms her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She sees darkness.

It's the only thing visible, the only thing tangible. Everything else doesn't feel like they make sense. Everything else feels like a figment to her imagination, a dream.

Kye can't remember much when she comes to. She remembers her friends. They aren't doing anything. They're just present in her memories. She remembers someone falling, and getting hit in the head with something. She remembers the sky. Oh, the sky. It was a light greyish colour, with a hint of green beyond the wall of clouds. It was being ripped apart. Wait, what? The sky was being ripped apart? How is that even possible? And then it strikes her blind.

_Morrigan._

Kye shoots up, gasping for air. She looks around, examining her surroundings, her fingers searching the ground below her for something. She looks up at the sky, but the scintillate glare causes her to turn away. She feels exhausted. Her body heavy and sore.

_Where am I?_

She lets her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, and slowly, she takes a peek at her location.

The hard ground is littered with sand, with a few giant boulders placed in convenient locations around her. The area is vast and dry like a desert, with no trees and no water, but lots and lots of sand. There are a few rocky caves situated a few miles behind her and a few cactuses grouped in front of her. She looks up. The sky is a baby blue, with only a few white clouds in sight. The air is dry but the wind makes up for the heat. In fact, it's great weather! But how could it be great weather? Kye remembers the tornado. She remembers everything that happened.

She gets up slowly, noticing that the pain in her abdomen is inevitably gone. She peers down. No blood stain, no wound, just a clear patch of her skin. Strange.

"This is getting weird." Her voice, raspy and dry, sounds different to her ears.

She straightens her back, and once again looks around. The area looks no different in a standing position. Just a vast, empty desert. Kye gulps.

"How did I get here?" She asks.

Of course, no one responds. She turns slightly, towards the caves beside her. She exhales slowly before making her way towards it. It's her only form of shelter for now. She has no idea where she is. No idea how she got here.

And she's alone.

The thought feels empty and terrifying to her.

Just when she starts to feel scared at her solitude, she trips over something.

Hard.

She falls face-first onto the ground, bruising her cheekbone and arms in the process. She lets out a frustrated grunt and stares up at the cave walls in front of her with a look similar to irritation. But her emotions shift when she hears a tiny moan coming from whatever object she had stumbled upon. The moan almost sounds human. Her eyes widen.

She scatters off the humanoid object, falling flat on her ass and scooting as far away from it as possible. Her suspicions are proven true. It's a human body.

The first emotion that hits her is fear. Fear that this person might be a potential threat. Her eyes fall down and register the body's immobility, and for a second, her defenses are dropped. Whoever this is, is vulnerable. Just like she is. And then the realization reaches her. There's someone else here besides her. Maybe this person has the answers she's looking for.

With weary caution, she scatters off her butt and stands up slowly. She's being careful, in fear of the body springing up on her as a surprise attack. From the back, it looks familiar. This person looks familiar. Kye circles the body with light steps, and stands above it with her eyes planted on the back of its head. It's a female, that much she's certain of. But what is it about this body that makes her think she's seen it before? It's just, all too familiar.

She squats down, her eyes not once leaving the body with that same cold steely gaze, and she reaches her finger out. She pokes the body once. No response. She frowns. She pokes again. No response.

With a sigh, she pushes herself down into a sitting position, rubbing her face with clear frustration.

_What is going on?_

The body in front of her jerks upwards, causing a stunned Kye to yelp and push herself back in surprise. A hand shoots out and searches the ground with outstretched fingers. Legs untangle themselves from each other, and a face is pushed off the ground to reveal itself to the wide-eyed Kye. That face. That familiar yet uncannily different-looking face.

"Evelyn?!"

How has she come to find herself at the same place as her best friend? In an unknown location with their unscathed selfs and slightly defective memories? It's all too much to take in. So much so that a wave of uneasiness crashes over Kye, overpowering her vision with black dots. She closes her eyes in pain and rubs her eyes with the edges of her fingers. This has happened before. Low-blood pressure. A dangerous thing.

"Kye?" Evelyn's voice is low with apprehension and exhaustion. It sounds unusual, considering how energetically loud Evelyn's always been.

Kye opens her eyes to stare at confused light brown ones. She reaches over, touches Evelyn's face, taking in the feel of her skin- Real. This is real. Isn't it?

Upon realizing what Kye's doing, Evelyn pulls away with her eyes wide and her cheeks flaming. She scatters off the floor, forming clouds of dust with her feet, and backs away. "W-W-What the hell?!"

"Calm down!" Kye says, observing Evelyn's wear. She's- different. It doesn't make much sense. But despite looking almost exactly the same, there's a strangeness there that Kye can't quite put her finger on. She looks different. Yet she looks exactly the same.

"Where are we?!"

"I don't know." Kye presses, hoping she doesn't sound as scared as she feels. "But we can find out. If we- If we just remain calm."

Evelyn glares at her. "Speak for yourself! I don't normally wake up in deserted deserts with my best friend looking like she's aged five years into the future!"

There's a short silence that follows, with Kye's expression changing into one of confusion, before settling in with realization. Her eyes widen as she pulls away and gapes at Evelyn with shock.

_That's_ the difference that has plagued her!

Evelyn- She's aged! She looks 20, maybe even older. The realization causes Kye's heart to do flips in her chest.

What has happened? Has the world fast-forward five years or have they simply been unconscious for that long? It's unlikely. But then again, nothing seems to be making sense anymore.

"We need to get into the shade." Kye blurts out, looking up at the sun with her heart pounding in her chest. "If I get anymore of this heat, my chest will explode."

"Why?" Evelyn asks nervously.

"Because," Kye gulps. "The heat is making my whole body pumped up for reasons I can't even explain."

She gets up slowly, steadying herself by pressing her palms on her knees. She extends a hand towards Evelyn, with her hesitantly accepting it. Together they make their way to the medium-sized cave a few inches away. It provides good enough shade, and the rock seems cool. Cool enough to allow Kye to whisk away the heat that had accumulated in her head.

She exhales loudly, inhales deeply, and repeats the cycle several times over. Evelyn sits beside her, trying to wrap her head around the whole thing, staring off into the distance with an impassive expression on her stricken face. Beads of sweat roll down both their faces and necks.

"The tornado."

Kye's eyes snap open. She turns to look at Evelyn, but she remains staring off into the desert. Evelyn's voice, Kye notices, is shaky with fear.

"Tornadoes don't just happen without a sign. Not in Malaysia. Not anywhere."

"No." Kye agrees. "They don't."

"So then why? And how? There was green lightning. A loud roar. Thunder, I thought. But it wasn't." Evelyn finally looks at Kye. But Kye almost wish she hadn't. Her eyes are stricken with fear. A fear that Kye knows she too feels, deep within herself. "That sound was made from the sky being ripped in two. Kye, how the hell is that even possible?"

If she has the answers to that, she'd be queen regent of all kingdoms.

"I don't know, Evelyn."

Kye turns away, eyes glued to the ground. A moment's hesitance is all it takes to bring about an assumption.

"There is something..."

Evelyn's expression shifts into one of hope. "What? What is it?"

Kye shakes her head. Should she mention it? After all, it seems almost impossible. Then again, if it really did turn out to be true, _that_ would be the cause of all this happening.

"Kye, what is it?"

What is it?

"A character from Dragon Age did this."

Evelyn doesn't respond right away. No, she lets the information sink in, before bursting out in a hysterical rant. Kye expected this. Not precisely, but she expected the overreaction. Why in hell's name would Evelyn believe her about this? She doesn't even believe it herself.

"Are you kidding? You're bringing that up now?! Do you know where the hell we are? Do you know what the hell's happened? Or where home is or why we're here?!" Evelyn's irritated expression causes Kye to slink into a cold hole of pure denial. "This is _not_ the time to bullshit about your stupid game! We're stranded here and we're somehow five years older and shit's insane right now and you're talking about Dragon Age?! Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"N-No, I-" Kye looks away, embarrassed, but confident, for once, about the fact that this _does_ have something to do with Dragon Age. She recognizes their wear, for one. The armor they're wearing- It's Ferelden-made. The material, drakeskin. Drake scales, found and killed off a Drake from atop the mountain at Haven, where the Prophet Andraste's ashes were kept inside an urn. The ashes that's said to be able to cure any illness. Even the mysterious illness that put Arl Eamon in a coma.

Everything's coming back to her now. She's suddenly almost certain of it. With Evelyn's rant sending her aflame, and the memories of her past experiences playing Dragon Age coming back in pieces in her mind, she's completely sure of it-

"We're in Thedas." Her voice is, for the first time that day, unwavering. "This is the Dragon Age Universe. I _did_ see Morrigan and she _is_ the cause of all this."

Before Evelyn opens her mouth to launch another rant, Kye grabs her tunic and tugs on it forcefully. "This is Drakeskin!" She says, glaring. She stands up and points to the desert beyond. "This is Thedas. A world where dragons and dwarves and elves and magic exists. We could die right now from a pack of wolves circling this cave, we could even be watched from afar by a group of maleficar, hoping to use us as sacrifice."

It seems crazy, it truly does. Her words barely make sense in her head. But it makes sense in her gut. She can feel it, strong like an overpowered bull, pulling her towards the acceptance of the unrealistic fact that they have somehow been transported to a virtual world created by mankind. The Dragon Age world of Thedas.

That dream she had-

That dream of Dragon Age. Back in the classroom, before the tornado, before the incident, before the stab in the stomach, before all that, she had a dream. It's all connected, isn't it?

"I wouldn't bullshit you, Evelyn. You know I wouldn't." She inhales a shaky breath. "But I can- I can feel it inside of me. I _know_ it's true." She doesn't realize the entirety of her words until a few seconds later. She turns around, just to get away from Evelyn's hard but fearful gaze, but then fear crashes over her like a massive waterfall.

There, standing vigilant with its head raised high in the air, and its bony fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of its sword, is a beast Kye has never seen before. A cross-breed between a darkspawn and a demon, with its eyes shining a demoralizing blue that sends shivers down her bare arms. Its armor is bloodied, and rotten, it's face, wounded and peeled. It's weapons are sturdy, strong, but the broken edges hang loosely on a thin, black thread. The beast stares at Kye, just as she stares at it. And for a minute, none makes a move.

The beast then lifts its head, opens its venom-corrupted mouth, and shrieks. The sound echoes through the desert, sending Kye's eardrums vibrating in agony. She closes her ears with her palms and turns around to watch Evelyn do the same. Whatever this thing is, it seems to have taken a hostility towards them. They're in its territory, that much is certain.

"Come on!" With a quick step forward, Kye grabs Evelyn's wrist and pulls her up. With strength and speed she never knew she possessed, she races out the cave and through the empty space with Evelyn in tow. Everything blurs around her. Everything except for the insane heartbeat rapping like a hummingbird in her chest.

She is unfamiliar with this feeling. A mix of fear and excitement. Anxiety, mixed with something else- A sense of self-assurance. A confidence she had always seem to lack. Now it's coming ten-folds, holding her body together like a fortress. She feels a strength inside her she had never known to nurture, and it's riveting inside of her, driving her onwards like an engine to a race-car. She feels power.

God, she feels _powerful_.

Her vision is limited to the plains in front of her. Looking back would only slow her down, would only allow the beast to attack-

A faint sound cuts her off. A sound she has grown quite accustomed to after long nights of playing Dragon Age with her earphones on at fear of her father waking up to realize she's still awake. Hearing the sound in this situation causes a cold shiver to run down her spine. She stops running abruptly, with Evelyn's body bumping into her straight after. Before Evelyn can ask her why'd she stop, or why she even began running in the first place (It seems she has still failed to notice the beast), Kye whips her head back, only to be struck in the side of her face by an arrow.

"Kye!" Evelyn's scream cuts through the dense, momentary silence after Kye had been struck.

She falls to the ground, her left hand outstretched while her right reaches up to touch the throbbing cut on her cheek. She has never felt this sting before. It causes her whole face to twitch with pain.

"Kye, are you okay?"

Before she can respond, she hears that sound again. But this time, quicker. In a haste, she scatters off her hands and drags Evelyn with her, making her way down to the right instead of forward. The arrow misses Evelyn's ponytail by an inch. And Evelyn hears it clear as a bell.

"Shit!" She curses, glaring at the ground. "What the hell?!"

Kye's voice comes in short gasps. "Hurry! We have to get out of this field."

"What is that thing?!"

"I don't know!"

They run. They keep running. They run until they feel their legs ache. But this isn't because they've been running for a long time. The ache, they notice, comes from their bodies being dormant. Dormant for five years. The sudden strain in their muscles is too much for their strangely-new bodies to take.

"Kye—"

"I know, I know."

They both stop, feeling their chests heave up and down and their legs cry out with pain. Kye reaches down to slap her hardened calf. Doesn't seem to be loosening up anytime soon. At this rate, they won't be able to run another five steps.

Evelyn wipes the dripping beads of sweat from her face with the back of her hand and inhales sharply. "Crap! What are we gonna do now?"

_What __**are**__ they going to do? _

Kye looks up at the direction from where they came. The plains are empty. Nothing to be seen except sand, boulders and dust. But Kye has been fooled before. Traveling in Sundermount with the paths seemingly looking clear, and then being ambushed by bandits who hid behind boulders and walls of nature caught her and her team completely off guard. She is not going to make that same mistake again.

"C'mon, we have to keep going no matter what. If that beast chases after us—" She turns around, but stops mid-sentence.

Not one any longer, but five. Five of the same beast that attacked them stand in a semi-circle around them, all ready with a weapon at hand. Kye's heart leaps to her throat.

"Dear Maker." She whispers, taking a few hesitant steps back. How the hell did they corner them like this? There is no way they can run. At this range, the one holding the bow could shoot them both blind in one go.

"Kye—" Evelyn gulps, her knees threatening to buckle from fear. "What— What's happening?"

It's obvious, isn't it? They're going to die. They're outnumbered, and unarmed. What chance do they have of surviving this?

Zero.

"Duck!"

A voice comes out of nowhere. Heaven, Kye thinks. But no, Thedas has no heaven. Could it be the Maker Himself, she wonders. But she doesn't think about it long, before her instincts react to the voice all on its own. She ducks, and from the corner of her eye, she watches Evelyn do the same.

She hears footsteps from behind her. Heavy, clanking, loud. And then she hears the scraping of metal. Before she can even comprehend what's happening, a man bursts from behind her, jumping over her and Evelyn's body with his sword raised high above his head. He tumbles on the ground with his shield around him, and upon standing, twirls his sword and thrusts it into one of the beast's chest.

Neither Kye and Evelyn nor the five beasts are able to find a proper reaction to the sudden appearance of this not only strange, but regal looking man.

He pulls his sword out, and Kye watches as blue blood spurts out of the large hole in its chest. The beast falls heavily onto the ground, creating clouds of sand dust around it.

The man raises his head, and glares. "Who's next?"

And then the battle begins. A battle that both Kye and Evelyn find extremely astounding to watch. It definitely doesn't look as if he's outnumbered. He takes a step back as a beast swings its sword at him, and shield bashes it to the ground before it can retaliate. Another beast comes up behind him, but he blocks its daggers easily before thrusting his sword deep into its abdomen. He pulls it out, steps on the fallen beast's back and jumps at the last one standing, slicing its head in half before it ever gets the chance to attack.

The battle is over, Kye realizes, before it had ever truly begun.

"May the Maker guide your twisted, corrupted souls into whatever hell lies within the other realm." The man says, more to himself, than to anyone else, as he twirls his sword and sheathes it back into his holster. He dusts his armor off, and turns around. His sun-kissed hair is short and cropped at the top of his neck. His blue eyes, though deliberately stern and intimidating, has a warmness in them that both Kye and Evelyn take comfort in.

Why— Why does he look so familiar?

"I apologize for the horrible accommodations." He smiles. "You must realize we were not expecting strangers on this land. The Grey Wardens try their hardest to guard all posts around the region but it seems sometimes, the land feels so large that we are unable to stop all activities." His voice is thick with an English accent. Ferelden, Kye thinks.

Kye stands up shakily, her knees betraying her surprisingly steady voice. "So it's true." She looks behind him at the dead creatures that tried to attack them. "This is Thedas."

It feels harder to take it in now. It's a known. A certain. This is Thedas. They had been transported to a virtual world made up by a gaming company for the sole purpose of entertainment. Shit, none of this makes sense.

The man's eyes flash. Kye almost misses it. But she catches it – like a fleeting butterfly. That dark look of spiteful understanding. It disappears before she can fully grasp onto it, however, and in its place, lies a thick mask of confusion. He tilts his head in dubiety, no doubt finding it a bit strange that it would be anywhere else.

"What would two," He tilts his head. "Lovely, charming ladies like yourselves be doing out here in the plains of Amaranthine?"

_Amaranthine. The home to the Grey Warden Fortress._

"It's— uh," Kye reddens, sounding clumsy with her words after hearing the man's unorthodox accent. "We're travelers. Kind of. Sorry, but... Who are you?"

She knows this man. She does. She can feel the uneasy familiarity stretching itself across her chest like blood. But if her inkling turns out to be true, then it could mean— Well hell, it could mean a lot of things. One of the most essential being that she had somehow stumbled upon the protagonist of a life-altering event.

The man bows slightly, smiles and extends a hand.

"I am Aedan Cousland, Grey-Warden Commander and Arling of Amaranthine."

"The Hero of Ferelden." The words slip through Kye's mouth before she has a chance to stop them.

Aedan's smile only widens. "Ah, Ferelden travelers. Or could it be my story has just spread so far into Thedas that outsiders now recognize it as well?" Something catches his notice before Kye can respond. He stares off into the distance behind them, his look turning hostile. It seems as if whatever had taken his notice, also took Kye's. She hears it. Like a steady drum. A heartbeat, except not really. A voice, maybe? She doesn't know. She can't tell. One thing is for sure, though. It sure ain't human.

"Perhaps we should take this inside closed walls, away from the prying beasts of the land, yes?"

Evelyn's never felt more appealed to an offer. "We'd like that."

"Good." Aedan turns on his heel, flinging the wide plains behind them one last glance, before walking forward.

Kye and Evelyn follow after him, taking heavy and uneasy steps. Evelyn nudges Kye on the arm. "You know him?" She asks softly.

Kye doesn't look up from the ground, but she flicks her a small glance before nodding.

"Who is he?" Her gaze narrows. "And what the hell just happened?"

Kye looks up at the Aedan, makes sure he can't possibly listen in to their conversation, and says. "I've already told you everything there is to know, Evelyn. This is Thedas. This is the Dragon Age. And as weird and freaky and friggin unrealistic that is, there is no other reality. Face the facts. We aren't on Earth anymore."

That seems to have shut Evelyn up.

The rest of the walk is spent with both girls remaining silent, stomaching everything that's happened, asking themselves the common 'how's' and 'why's'. Aedan only turns back to check on them once.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kye can tell this much – They've been walking for too long.

Aedan said he was taking them to the Grey Warden fortress, behind closed doors to keep the beasts of the desert from harming them. But they've walked for far too long into the distant sun and they have yet to come across any building resembling a fortress. Even squinting, Kye is unable to see any structure of any kind around them. Aedan isn't leading them to his fortress. And that can only mean one thing.

He knows they aren't casual travelers.

"Are we there yet?" Evelyn couldn't keep the question in any longer.

Kye watches Aedan curiously from behind, noticing the way his chest rises at the sound of her voice. Clearly, he'd been expecting the question. "It seems you two have ventured far off into the desert. The fortress is a little ways more." His voice is even, steady, but clearly there isn't any sincerity in it.

He knows. He knows and he's taking them somewhere terrible.

It's the only explanation.

Kye forces the bitter bile down her throat, refusing to give way to even the slightest tinge of fear. This isn't a situation she can solve with apprehension. If Aedan knows, that can only mean that whatever had happened on Earth has happened here as well. It means that – that tear in the Veil affected both dimensions.

God, this can't get any weirder.

She throws a glance behind her shoulder. Nothing stands in the horizon, just the terrain they've already crossed. For whatever reason, they've woken up in the middle of an empty plain. Which is strange, considering she doesn't remember running into any desert plains while venturing off at Amaranthine during her game-plays of Awakening. She's only played it twice, but she's fairly certain the region landscapes are green and lush. Much like Redcliffe or Haven.

This barren land is not in her memory.

Her simple deduction causes a rush of nerves to run down her spine. Aedan isn't the man you play in Origins. Not exactly, at least. If he exists, he holds a soul only he controls – not a default – he has a personality that neither she nor anybody else on Earth can control. He is as human as she is. Which can only mean he has his own goals, his own intentions, his own priorities. Who's to say he isn't a renegade? Who's to say he didn't force Alistair into killing the Archdemon to get out of the battle alive? Just because he exists today as Warden-Commander doesn't necessarily mean he's taken all the right paths.

He could very well be a killer.

Kye decides to be brave. For once in her life. She decides to put aside her fear, and embrace the girl she felt like before when she ran – the girl with power.

"Aedan," Her voice escapes her lips smooth, but thin. If Aedan's smart, he'd be able to realize that. "Forgive me for being uninformed, but who is king of Ferelden right now?"

Aedan takes a moment to respond. "King?" He says. "Alistair Theirin."

Default. Kye can accept that. It's what she would've chosen. "And Queen Anora?"

"_Queen_ Anora?" Aedan turns to look at her over his shoulder, an almost amused glint hidden in his aquamarine eyes. "She hasn't been 'queen' since Alistair took the throne. When he killed her father, she refused to even cooperate with the crown. Called him a murderer. Called him a lot of names, in fact. Called the Grey Wardens a lot of names in general."

"Was she banished?" Kye asks.

"Banished? No. Alistair's not that kind of king." He pauses, remaining silent for a moment, before adding, "Although after she left Denerim, her whereabouts became uncertain. It seems she lost the only family she'd ever known when Alistair struck her father down."

Aedan doesn't seem like a renegade, but lies are bound to be whispered. If he's telling the truth, that means he's saved Redcliffe village. Right?

"What of Redcliffe village?" Kye asks, hoping she doesn't sound too needy for information. "Who stands as ruler in Redcliffe?"

"Bann Teagan. When Alistair took the throne, Arl Eamon stayed in Denerim to help with his royal affairs. After a while, he decided to just stay."

Default. It happens in every epilogue if Alistair is chosen for king. "And... Kirkwall? The mage-templar rebellion? What of that?"

She knows it's a longshot. The events of Dragon Age 2 might have not even happened yet. But she needs to know. If Hawke exists... It changes things.

This changes things. She needs to know more, to deduct her conclusion, to figure out what state Thedas is in.

"You speak of the Champion of Kirkwall? Of Hawke?" Aedan stops, sounding surprised and taken aback. He turns around to face her, shock coloring his face. "You know of her?"

Her. Hawke is a girl. Kye nervously looks away. "I've... heard of her endeavors."

"Ah." Aedan doesn't look convinced. His strange expression gives her an uneasy feeling. "You know a lot more than I thought."

Kye's heart jumps. "What?"

Aedan shakes his head quickly. "Nothing." He turns around and continues walking. "We should hurry. The sun will be setting soon."

Kye inhales sharply, noticing the way Aedan's voice harden at that last sentence. There is definitely something wrong here. _You know a lot more than I thought._ What does that mean? He knows that they're not from this world? Kye bites the inside of her mouth, fighting against the want to shut up and the need to ask more.

But she realizes, soon after, the best (and frankly only) thing to do at this point is to follow. After all, both she and Evelyn are clueless to their whereabouts. Maybe Evelyn more than her dragon age-gaming friend, but nonetheless they had no idea where to go. Kye decided, uncertainly, that they'll follow Aedan. Until he reaches where he takes them. And when they arrive, they'll make a fast break. And escape.

Worst case scenario, Aedan kills them.

Best case scenario, Aedan does it quickly.

They arrive, almost half an hour later, by a deserted camp almost fifty miles northeast of where they originally woke. The sun is less harsh on their dry skin, despite the beads of sweat dripping down their bodies, causing their clothes to go damp and sticky. Kye reaches up to wipe the sweat from her eyes, inhaling as much hot air as she can before exhaling.

"What is this?" She asks, coughing a second later.

Aedan, already accustomed to the fierce desert weather, reaches up to flick the few beads of sweat from his forehead, and approaches the camp. "An abandoned camp left by bandits. Alaskians. Nasty group of pick-pocketters, but they pack a punch against the vermin out in these plains when needed." He gestures to the two empty tents and firepit. "Grey Wardens found them about a week ago, loitering around these grounds, looking for merchants to harass and attack. We drove them out."

"Are we resting here?" It's the first time Evelyn's spoken since she asked Kye of his identity. There's a large pool of longing and exhaustion in her voice. One that Kye is sure shows in her own voice as well.

Aedan nods. "For the night. The darkness welcomes travelers, but only for its own musings. If I'm given the chance to avoid death, I'd much rather take than ignore it."

He tells them that while they rest and gather their bearings, he will head off into the plains to search for food. Although Kye finds it hard to believe anything could be found and harvested in these dead plains. He insists, however, that they be well taken care of before they arrive at their destination. For what reason, both Kye and Evelyn are afraid to ask. He hands them a bottle of water, tells them to share and drink generously, and leaves to the open, barren desert.

The first thing Evelyn does once he's gone, is enter one of the abandoned tents, flop down onto the ground and sleep. Kye takes a longer moment to examine their surroundings. Just a little ways off in the distance, in the direction Aedan was leading them towards, stands an old, dark tower with only one window at the very top. Kye licks her dry, cracking lips, and squints to get a better view.

"Where the hell are we?"

She handles the bottle in her hand and takes a fast swig. The water that flows down her throat feels like heavenly liquid; it, miraculously, restores almost a quarter of her previous energy. Unfortunately, however, she feels a deep yearning for more. She knows she has to save it. For the sake of her and Evelyn.

And Aedan.

Dismissing the issue of his identity, she hooks the ring on the bottle over the hoop in her belt, and makes her way into the tent Evelyn resides in. The roof fails to take away much of the heat from outside, but, at least, it provides shade. She sits beside her friend, who now lies, almost deathly, on the ground with an arm over her eyes.

Seconds tick without either making a sound. Kye occupies her busy mind with thoughts of Dragon Age. And Thedas. And the current world state.

How is this all possible?

"Kye." Evelyn's weak voice pulls Kye out of her deep contemplation, catching her by surprise. She had assumed Evelyn was asleep. After the long trek they'd just walked, Kye figured Evelyn needed the rest (and so did she, but her thoughts wouldn't abide by her reasoning).

Evelyn takes a full moment to speak next. When she does, her voice comes off completely, and utterly, terrified. "What the hell happened?"

Kye knits her brows together. She doesn't want to admit to her own fear, she doesn't want to say that she doesn't know – because that would mean she's as clueless as Evelyn is to this whole thing. And repeating her cluelessness isn't something she's fond of doing. It doesn't help her, and it won't help Evelyn.

"You should rest." Kye says, after a moment. "We're gonna be walking a lot more again tomorrow."

Evelyn scowls. "You bitch. Stop deflecting the question."

Kye grits her teeth together. "I'm not. I just don't know how to answer it. I can't— I can't figure out the answers, Evelyn. This is all— It's all completely new and I'm as scared as you are. I don't know what to do."

Evelyn finally pulls her arm away from her forehead, and Kye's heart breaks when her gaze falls on the tears dripping down the corners of her eyes. "You know more than I do, Kye." She reaches forward and grips Kye's sleeve tightly, tugging on it constantly while she speaks. "You're _sure_ this is the Dragon Age world? You're _sure_ that this is all— this is all _real_?"

"No, Evelyn, I'm not." Kye hesitates, before adding, "I mean, I know this is Thedas. I recognize too many things for it to not be. And Aedan. Aedan Cousland is the man you get to control when you play dragon age origins. That's not a freaking coincidence!"

"So then what?" Evelyn asks, eyes flashing in momentary fury. "We just follow him blindly to whereever he takes us? Why don't you just tell him that we're not _from_ here?!"

"Oh yeah, that's genius! Tell the guy I don't even trust that we're from another realm called Earth where his whole world is actually a made-up game that people play to get away from reality!" Kye snaps.

Evelyn's eyes flash. In a quick moment, she raises her hand, and slaps Kye. Not hard enough to bruise, but hard enough for it to hurt – not just on her red cheek, but in her chest, as well. "Don't— Don't _freaking_ talk like that to me!" Evelyn's voice rises, shaking with grief and fear and confusion. "I'm sick of you acting like you know everything! Like you're the smart one and I'm just here, being a stupid blonde bimbo even though I'm not! I'm fucking sick of it, Kye! Stop being a douche, and talk to me like I'm your fucking best friend!"

Kye stares at her, wide-eyed, shocked, and unknowing what to say.

Has she really been treating her best friend like that?

Seeing past the mist of fear that clouds her vision, Kye pulls away from whatever spirit had taken ahold of her asperity, and reaches out to pull Evelyn into an embrace. Her best friend responds in kind, wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling her even closer.

"Fuck." Kye whispers aggressively, glaring down at the ground in disapproval of her own actions. "I'm sorry, Evelyn, I didn't— I was so focused on finding out what happened, on trying to see if this is really... really _Thedas. _I didn't know what else to think of—"

Evelyn's choke cuts her off, and Kye can feel her hold over her neck tightening. "What if we're stuck her forever?" Evelyn whispers. "What if we can never go back home?"

The question hits a soft spot on Kye's beating heart. She takes a moment, before responding with, "I won't let that happen."

Finally, Evelyn pulls away, staring at Kye earnestly with a look so deep it's threatening to overwhelm her. "What do you mean?"

A beat. "I swear I'm gonna find a way back, Evelyn." Kye hesitates, looking away. "I know you guys think I'm some wannabe with stupid big dreams of being the hero, of being fit and strong and willing to fight in an apocalypse without fear of anything or anyone. And I know that me saying this is probably the most selfish and conceited thing anyone alive could ever say, but I've been waiting for this day my whole life. I've been waiting for this opportunity to arrive in a world where magic exists, and to use that magic to save whoever needs saving."

Evelyn's eyes flash sympathetically. "Kye—"

"No, hear me out." She sighs, closing her eyes, before shaking her heavy head. When she reopens her eyes, she finds herself feeling different. In the absence of her uncertainty and fear, there is a heavy sense of pride. She's always been a gamer. She's always been a believer. Maybe this is the opportunity God has been preparing her for. It's an incredibly silly thought. An incomprehensibly inane belief.

But Kye believes in it anyways.

Because she realizes that it's the only thing capable of driving her onwards.

"'If you can't beat them, join them.'" Evelyn stares at her questioningly, but Kye continues before she can ask about it. "I'm gonna find a way out of this, Evelyn, but before that, I have to find out what happened. I _know_ this world. I _know_ Dragon Age. I didn't waste half of my life away for nothing. I'm gonna _play _this game," She says. "But this time, I'm gonna play it completely my way."

"So," Evelyn mutters. "You're gonna go along with all this?"

Kye nods. "Exactly. I know it's crazy, I know that this is all... crazy! But this is the only way I think can help us. This is the only way to get us back home, instead of flapping our arms around screaming confusion in the middle of a crowded street with assassins at every corner."

Evelyn waits for a long moment to respond. She stares at Kye's unwavering face, looks at the ground of their green-colored sheltering, looks out into the desert through the half-way open flaps of the tent – Finally, she says, "I don't know if I can, Kye." When Kye attempts to say something, she quickly silences her with her hand. She looks straight into her eyes when she says, "But I'll try. I'll try the hardest I can. For the sake of going home."

A smile breaks the hard mask on her best friend's expression, and she reaches out to pull Evelyn into her. The girl rests her head on Kye's shoulder.

"Here." Kye says, unhooking the bottle from her belt and handing it to Evelyn. "Drink. You need the water."

"Oh yes, please." Evelyn grabs the bottle and scuffs it down.

"But don't drink too much!" Kye snaps, attempting to grab the bottle from Evelyn's hands as she wiggles her way out of Kye's embrace. "We need that for tomorrow too, you idiot."

Evelyn finally finishes, and hands it back to Kye. "Where did that guy go?"

"Aedan?" Kye looks out the flaps. "He went hunting."

Evelyn once again rests her head on Kye's shoulder. "Do you think we can trust him?"

It's a question Kye, unfortunately, fails to answer. "The man you play on Dragon Age and the man we met before are two entirely different people. I don't know if we can trust him." Kye admits. "But for now, he's the only person we've met. He's our only tie to civilization. And if he's connected to Morrigan, that only gives us more reason to go with what he says. For now."

"Right." Evelyn says. "You're gonna have to tell me everything you know about this place, Kye. Because I didn't get what you said at all."

Kye smiles, and looks down at Evelyn from the corner of her eye. "It's gonna take all night, hobes. You're gonna be asleep by the time I reach Dragon Age 2."

Evelyn groans, but a smirk slips through her defenses, and she buries her face within the crook of Kye's neck. "Tell me anyway." She says, sighing. "We're in your world now. And I actually wanna get home in one piece."

"Okay." Kye says, breathing in deeply, before speaking, "It starts with the Maker..."

They talk for a long, long time. Kye tells her of everything she knows about Dragon Age. About Thedas. About the Hero of Ferelden, AKA Aedan Cousland. About his companions. About Morrigan. About the Blight. About darkspawn. About Hawke. About Kirkwall. Everything there is to know about Dragon Age at this point, she tells her. By the end of it, Evelyn falls halfway asleep. But she takes it. Surprisingly, she stays awake through the whole story, nods whenever Kye says something important, and rolls her eyes whenever she adds a stupid, unnecessary joke.

Night falls on them like a blanket of darkness. The whole tent, goes completely silent.

"Holy shit Kye, I'm blind."

"You've always been blind, Evelyn, why'd it take you this long to figure it out?"

Evelyn smacks her on the arm, but they both decide to leave the tent. Outside, Kye realizes the hot air from the day has become considerably colder. The cool, night breeze whips through their damp, dirty clothes and makes the two exhausted girls feel just that bit lighter. There is no light in the sky, but crackling in a fit of ashes a few feet away from their tent is a fire. Aedan squats before it, throwing sticks into the flames and fanning them lightly. Kye notices the three nugs being roasted over the tamed inferno. The sight, though slightly displeasing, causes her stomach to rumble with hunger.

Evelyn looks like she's thinking the same thing. Her eyes never once leave the roasted, brown animals.

Despite that, Aedan's presence makes the atmosphere... uneasy. Kye can feel it. And, surprisingly, being as thick as she is, so can Evelyn.

"Had a good rest?"

Kye's eyes scan the ground for a weapon. Aedan has lain his sword a few inches away from where she is. Her gaze comes back up to meet his. "You can say that." She says softly.

Evelyn latches close to her. Every step Kye unwillingly takes, Evelyn takes the same. She's following her lead. That means something that Kye would never admit to her best friend. It means that Kye's taken dominance over their situation. It means that she's in charge. It's something she, for so long now, has been wanting but been afraid to have.

The corner of Aedan's mouth quirks upwards. He gestures to the nugs in front of him. "Hungry?"

Evelyn actually takes the initiative. "Very." Despite her enthusiastic answer, Kye can just faintly catch that hint of hostility in her voice.

They circle around the fire slowly, watching the crackling, watching the nugs, watching Aedan. Kye looks over the desert behind him for only a second, and by the corner of her eye, she catches movement. Her gaze flies down to where Aedan is subtly pulling out a dagger from behind his holster. Her heart wretches up to her throat.

In a swift and impulsive flurry, she's bent down and raised Aedan's sword in front of her, lunging the sharp end at the direction of Aedan's face. His expression goes from blank nonchalance to shock.

"Put the dagger down." She commands, realizing her voice has a hint of a British accent. Being around this man is bringing out the British in her, which isn't uncommon. Kye's always been known to break into an accent at the most random of times. And she's fluent at it as well. How'd she acquire it, nobody knows.

Aedan does as he's told, and raises his gloved hands up in surrender. Kye knows, however, that with his armor and experience, he'd be able to take them both down easy despite her having the upperhand in weapon choice. She wonders what his game is.

"Calm down." He says slowly, cautiously, as if he's afraid one wrong word would evoke a horrible reaction from the mentally insane girl. Then his voice goes hard and deep, something that neither girls expect. "I'm not your enemy."

Kye keeps the sword where it is, pointed directly at where his face is, and says, "You know who we are."

Aedan knits his brows together. "And what if I do?"

"You lied." Evelyn said, sticking to the shadows of Kye's silhouette. "You acted like you didn't know anything."

Aedan laughed spitefully. "What else was I supposed to do? Admit to knowing your identities? Give away mine at the assumption that two random confused women out in a desert are somehow tied with the tear in the Veil?"

"Tear in the Veil?" Kye's breath catches. She narrows her gaze. "Tell me everything you know."

Aedan says, "I only know what you already know. That your world... has somehow come into mine."

"And those creatures?" Kye asks, remembering the faces of those horrible blue-blooded demons that looked terrifyingly similar to that of a darkspawn's.

"They came days before we found the tear. Enchanters say they might be demons. For now, we call them Ilyses."

"Ilyses?"

Aedan pauses, before saying, "They were the minions of those who attempted to break into the Golden City long ago. Tales of their endeavors aren't well known, but many claim they were bred from lyrium, and something else. Something that can only be found in another world."

Earth.

Kye exchanges a glance with Evelyn. She takes a step forward, pushing the sword closer to Aedan's face. "How did you know we were from another world? How did you know there even _is_ another world?"

Aedan's gaze hardens. He speaks in a low, threatening voice. One that makes Kye feel unbecomingly intimidated. "We found others like you all across Ferelden before your wake. They claimed to be from a place called _Earth_. We tried to reason with them, to extract information that could quite possibly help our own quest, but all they spoke of was blasphemy. All we found out, was that they were sucked into a tornado that erupted from the sky."

"A tornado." Evelyn gasps, squeezing Kye's bicep tightly before letting go and facing her. "Kye, there're _others_ here. We have to find them!"

"One step at a time," Aedan says. "Before you search for your friends, you first have to figure out what happened. And why. Who caused this."

Who? Kye looks straight into his aquamarine eyes. He has no idea who's behind this. He has no idea that his own companion, the very witch of the wilds who accompanied him to slay the Archdemon, is responsible for this whole mess.

Who else should break this dire news to him but her?

"Are you with anybody, Aedan?"

Evelyn instantly shoots her a look.

Aedan's face tightens in confusion. "Me? Am I with— I, uh, no. Not currently."

"Were you with anybody before?" Kye probes. "Maybe during the time you were battling the Fifth Blight?"

Aedan looks reluctant to respond. But a sword to the face is as good a persuader as any. "It was—" Sighing, he reluctantly admits, "Her name was Morrigan."

Ah, the default. Or, at least, the seemingly default. A female Warden would, no doubt, romance Alistair. A male, however, would definitely go for Morrigan. It would make most sense, cause the most drama, in a world like Thedas. Kye has come to realize that.

Now this just makes the news all the more heartbreaking to tell.

Kye clears her throat, and lowers the sword, just slightly. She can feel the strain on her right arm. She isn't even used to seeing a sword, let alone holding one.

"When the tornado swept through my world," Kye says slowly. "Somebody from yours appeared."

Aedan's eyes widen. He opens his mouth to speak, but Kye shuts him up by raising the sword closer to his face. It now floats inches away from his nose.

"Let me finish. There was a woman who came to us. She appeared out of nowhere. And when I went unconscious, she stood at the foot of the tear in the sky, chanting a spell and doing some weird voo-doo thing with a bloody dagger." Kye shakes her head, takes a breath, and says, "It was Morrigan, Aedan. Morrigan is the reason the tear exists."

Aedan's expression changes from contemplation, to shock, to dread, and then finally, to fury. He whips another dagger out from behind him and slashes the tip of the sword away from his face. Standing up, he takes a step forward with his blade drawn by his side. Fear strikes Kye like an angry serpent. Her first instinct, her only instinct, is to raise the sword. The second Aedan strikes hard towards the open spot by her left, she raises the sword with her right and deflects the blow. The sound of metal meeting metal echo through the empty night.

Her arm strains with having to hold the sword upright while simultaneously having to push against Aedan's strength. Her left hand shoots up instinctively to press against the other side of the blade.

"Impressive." Aedan mutters, looking up at Kye with a wicked glare. "I'd assumed you weren't trained where you came from."

"We aren't." Kye grunts, glaring him down just the same.

Aedan pulls away, taking a full step back to create a fair distance between them. Kye drops the edge of the sword onto the ground and rubs her right arm with her left, keeping her eyes on him and her grip on the handle at all times. She isn't sure if she can deflect another attack, if there is one. The first block was completely pure luck.

"You say Morrigan is behind this." Aedan's voice is soft as he speaks. He avoids the girls' gazes, looking down at the ground in front of him in what seemed to be hesitance. The deleterious aura that he was submerged in before has seemingly dissipated into an air of regret and guilt. "You saw her in your world? You're sure it was her?"

Kye flinches, but says, "Positive. I'd recognize that face anywhere."

Aedan smiles, just slightly, before looking up at her. "She does have a rather memorable face, doesn't she?" With a heavy sigh, he sheathes his dagger back into its holster and shakes his head. "Why am I not more surprised by this news? I knew Morrigan was trouble from the start, but I'd have never expected her to tear a damn hole in the Veil."

Kye's still a little shaken from his earlier attack. She addresses him cautiously, observing the way his shoulders sag and his defenses fall. It seems, though strangely enough, that he has no interest in harming her or her friend.

Thankfully, Evelyn decides to ask the question for her. "What the hell was that attack?"

Aedan looks up at them, and says, "Oh, I apologize. When you spoke of Morrigan, my instincts got the better of me. I'd been planning to attack anyways, to see for myself how far your skills stretched. Make no mistake, however, I never actually intended to harm either of you."

"Oh yeah?" Kye asks, snarling. "I find that hard to believe."

Aedan raises a skeptical eyebrow. "If you think I'd ever planned on inflicting pain upon you, you're sorely mistaken. I only want what you want – a way out of this chaos. I want to find out what happened, and put an end to it. But, of course, you can't blame me for being cautious towards two strangers from another world. If I came off as hostile, that was only because I wasn't sure if you two could be trusted." He took a beat, before adding, "I'm sure you two felt the same."

Kye finds herself flushing at the realization that he's absolutely right. Evelyn, from beside her, scoffs, but says nothing.

Aedan says, "I want to help you. But I can only do that, if you help me in return."

Kye lets her grip on the sword loosen. She contemplates it. Aedan Cousland is not a renegade. The Hero of Ferelden is not a backstabber... Right? He wouldn't go against his word. Moreover, he came from royalty. Or, semi-royalty at least. He was a noble once. That can only mean he's less prone to trickery and deceit.

"Trust me," He says. "And I'll trust you." With that, he takes a step forward and extends his hand.

Kye can only stare at his open palm.

She remembers what she said to Evelyn. _I'm gonna play this game. But this time, I'm gonna play it completely my way._

She's loved Dragon Age ever since she bought the second game four years ago. Since then, she's been dreaming of a chance to reawaken in Thedas, to live and breathe and fight alongside the people of the Dragon Age world.

This is her chance.

This is her future.

That, although still quite unsure, she knows is true.

She drops the sword, takes a step forward and grabs Aedan's outstretched hand.

"Trust me and I'll trust you." She repeats his earlier offer, and nods. "We'll find the solution to this problem together."

"Aye," Aedan says. "We'll find Morrigan and we'll have our answers. That, I promise to you."

They pull apart, and Kye feels Evelyn's hesitant gaze burning holes on the side of her face.

"You're sure about this?" Evelyn whispers.

Kye glances at her, and smiles. "Trust me a little, hobes."

"I feel silly for not having asked this earlier," Aedan presses his palm against his forehead, and shakes his head. "But I have yet to know your names."

Evelyn looks at Kye, seeking consent. Kye shrugs, and leans in to whisper. "It can be whatever you want. You control the game now, remember?"

Evelyn hesitates, but she seems to have gotten the message. Taking a moment to contemplate the idea, she quickly straightens up, and faces Aedan. "I'm Evelynia Isolec."

Kye almost laughs. A loud, booming one that would surely echo through the desert plains. Instead, however, she stifles a loud chuckle and covers it up with a cough. Evelyn glares at her, and jabs her on the rib.

"Evelynia." Aedan repeats, nodding. He then turns to Kye. "And you, Earthling?" He asks, gazing over the features on her face curiously. "What're you called?"

Earthling. She is an Earthling here. An unknown, mysterious being from another world. She finds herself feeling excited. After the chaos and confrontation of the night, her heart settles in with the idea of working together with the Hero of Ferelden to track down Morrigan and save both their worlds from utter annihilation. She knows instantly, what her name will be.

"Kyedan." She says, looking up at Aedan with wide, shimmering eyes. "My name is Kyedan Valdarynx."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

That night, they feast on nug and finish however much water they have left. Aedan assured them the tower they're heading towards has a never-ending supply. The next morning, they wake to the wrath of Ferelden's fierce sun, and leave minutes after dawn towards the tower Kye had seen earlier the day before. Apparently, the weather had gone considerably worse after she first woke yesterday. The winds were, in fact, only passing breezes. Now the air is hot, and no wind compensates for it.

When Kye asks Aedan exactly where they are, he admits to lying to her before, and confesses that they are, in truth, at the Western Approach. An area of desolate sand and nothingness far west of Ferelden.

"Why'd you lie?" Kye asks.

"I had to know if you were familiar with Thedas." Aedan responds. "Judging from your expression when I lied, you know the terrain fairly well."

Kye takes a breath of a hot air, coughs, and shakes her head. "Amaranthine is not a desert. That much, I know."

"Fair enough."

They walk for hours on end. To Kye, the tower seems to only shrink the closer they get to it. She hardly believes they'll manage to reach it before dusk closes in. But Aedan reassures them that they will. The length is only an illusion.

Kye reaches up to wipe the sweat from her face. She silently thanks God – or the Maker, considering they're in Thedas – for somehow supplying a scrunchie over her wrist upon her awakening the day before. She had tied her hair up yesterday when they began traveling with Aedan. She's sure that if she hadn't, she'd already have melted.

Approximately an hour later, Kye's strength falters, and she drops to one knee with a loud cry. Aedan whirls around just in time to catch Evelyn kneel down beside her in worry.

"Kye!" Evelyn tries to examine her face. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Kye laughs, shaking her head, but she can't find the energy in her to respond.

Aedan looks up at the sun. "Must be the heat. How much did you have to drink yesterday?"

"Not enough," Kye manages to whisper. "Apparently."

"Idiot. There was a whole damn bottle and you didn't even drink enough!" Evelyn snaps.

Kye looks up at her, smirking, and taps her on the cheek with the back of her hand. "Was saving it up for your sake, darlin'."

Evelyn colors slightly, before pulling away in shock. Aedan looks over his shoulder at the tower still maybe an hour's walk away. With a heavy sigh, he turns back to her, and bends down.

"I don't know if you can continue—"

"I can."

Surprised, Aedan pauses. "But you—"

"I'm fine, Aedan." Kye says, attempting to get up. "Just a little— unused to the body is all."

Aedan asks, "What do you mean 'unused to the body'?"

"We've been aged almost five years into the future." Evelyn says. "We were sixteen when we left KK— ah, I mean, Earth."

"Sixteen." Aedan says, eyes widening. "You two are children."

Kye laughs. "Not anymore." She manages to steady herself with both legs.

"And you're sure you can make the journey?" Aedan asks worriedly, grazing over the hardened muscles on Kye's legs.

She exhales loudly, unwillingly leaning against Evelyn for support, and nods. "I'm not gonna be the one to slow you guys down. Keep walking, Aedan. I'll be right behind you."

"So will I!" Evelyn exclaims.

Aedan, though reluctant, nods. He turns around, and keeps walking.

An hour later, they arrive by the gates of the notorious tower. Kye feels the breath in her lungs leave her body at the sight of its majestically beautiful template. She's never seen anything quite so... ancient. From a distance, the tower only looked stoic and dull, muted with only its one window to brighten its dark exterior. Up close, however, Kye realizes she's failed to see the many little details of its intricate design littered all across its walls.

Evelyn's the first to comment on its beauty. "I've never seen anything like this."

Aedan turns to address them. "It was part of a larger construction at first. A section to a massive fortress. Unfortunately, circumstances caused the remaining structures to corrode and vanish. How this tower survived while its brethren crumbled, nobody will ever know." He gestures to the gates. "For now, we've claimed it as a Grey Warden post. Please, ladies first."

Evelyn, with an arm still wrapped around Kye's waist for support, helps Kye through the tall black gates and up the short stairs. Two Grey Warden soldiers stand ready by its entrance, saluting at the sight of their Commander approaching the doors. He tells them to open, and they hurriedly obey. Aedan then leads the two girls inside, over the marble ground and towards the lone wooden dining table situated at the very end of the chamber.

The cool feel of the tower's marble stones draw the exhaustion from their bodies, leaving them feeling light-headed and giddy.

"Finally." Evelyn exclaims, laughing and grinning like a madwoman.

Kye slips from her grasp, and falls to the ground. Suddenly, she finds herself feeling... strange. There's a knot in her stomach. A knot so twisted and animated she can almost feel it growing in her belly. She wonders what it might be, when a striking pain lashes out in her head like a needle as sharp as an arrow. It, at first, grows only past the edges of the sides of her brain, but quickly, the pain spreads – before she realizes it her whole head is wracking with this strange sensation.

She bends over, pressing both palms against her head desperately, screaming for the pain to stop as Aedan and Evelyn both kneel down over her agonized form, crying out words she can barely hear.

The pain —

Oh God, she can't take it!

It feels like a sword is being driven through her skull!

She cries out for help. She cries out for God. For the Maker. For anybody who could stop the pain — but nobody answers her desperate cries. In the end, she's left alone with her agony, withering away in torment, suffering against an enemy she cannot fight.

After what feels like hours, her strength washes away, and before she knows it,

Darkness once again overwhelms her.

She has a dream again.

Like the one before, it's situated in a gamer's world. Evelyn was in it again. This time, however, despite carrying a staff, she seemed docile. Harmless. She stood, with brown eyes bright with enthusiasm, next to somebody who looked eerily like Kye, with her hand wrapped tightly around her companion's.

Unlike the one before, however, somebody else stood in it. Somebody who Kye's been trying hard not to think of in the few months she's been away from her. Somebody who, in her dream, glows as radiant and as beautiful as she does in real life. Except unlike in real life, the dream version of her stands resolute, unwavering, against a pack of wolves, holding up another staff, dragon skull carved at the top, and throwing fireballs at each one as they pounced.

The dreams ends, when a pack of Ilyses bursts from the smokes left by the mage girl's flames, and attacks both Evelyn and Kye.

Kye wakes up with a jolt. It's the first time she's had a dream so vivid push her up into a sitting position upon an awakening. Her breathing, when she wakes, is ragged and rough. Surprisingly, she doesn't have her usual horrid morning breath. She isn't sure how long she's been out. But her body aches. Along with her head, and pretty much every other part of her with living cells in it. She looks around the room frantically, until her eyes land on the back of a mysterious man standing merely eight feet away from her.

Her heart stops.

"Who are you?!" She cries, throwing herself back against the wall beside her.

The man jumps, and turns. His white face, pale with fright, stares back at Kye in dread. He has pointed ears. He's an elf. Kye almost gives in to excitement at the very sight!

"M-My apologies, m'Lady!" He bows deeply, so deep his tousled hair nearly grazes the floor. From that angle, his petite, skinny stature is as obvious as his long, pointed ears. He straightens up, still white with fear. "Master Cousland has asked me to report your condition to him immediately should you wake! I-I must go now." With a last frightful look at Kye, he turns on his heel and dashes off, exiting through the tall door opposite her.

The room goes uncomfortably silent.

Sighing, Kye reaches up to touch her throbbing head. But her skin feels weird when she touches it – soft and strange and much like cloth. That's when she realizes her head has been bandaged. Panicking, she paws at it with both hands, probing into it by poking and attempting to find its end. Why the hell is her head bandaged?

Before she can answer her own question, the door opposite swings open, and in steps Aedan Cousland. Dressed in normal people clothing. Which makes Kye rather uncomfortable, considering his grey tunic hugs his body almost perfectly, revealing every muscle and every perfectly shaped ab. Kye may prefer the company of women, but that doesn't mean her attraction for men with remarkable bodies have lessened in the past few years.

Aedan's face breaks into a smile. "You're finally awake."

Kye swallows, before asking, "Finally?" She shakes her head. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Indeed." He approaches her with his deep aquamarine eyes trailing the length of her body. His gaze is so unintentionally intense, Kye wonders to herself whether or not he's aware of it. "We were worried after the fifth hour. Evelynia was— To put it lightly, she was starting to doubt."

Kye's chest constricts. "Oh yeah?" She asks in a small whisper. "So how long—"

"Two days." He says, smiling sadly, before gesturing to the window on the far side of the room. "I thought this room would best suit your recovery. It's the only room in the tower with a window in it. Normally, we use it for patrols. We can see almost the entire approach through its line of vision. But, of course, certain circumstances have caused a change of routine. Your recovery was our priority."

"But why?" Kye blurts, unaware that she had even asked it at first.

Aedan looks at her for a long time. "Because you're unlike the others, Kyedan Valdarynx. You are unlike Earthlings, and Thedasians, alike."

He bends down beside her bed and unwraps the bandages from her head. "When you started hurting, we assumed the heat had gone to your head. Either that or— Well, there was no other explanation except magic. Then you went unconscious. And— And then something strange happened that bothered me. Bothered us all, in fact."

"Strange, huh?" Kye chuckles spitefully. "I doubt anything would surprise me at this point."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that just yet."

With a small exhale, he pulls the bandage free, and unravels the mystery behind them. He reaches down his trouser pocket and pulls out a shard of glass. When he offers it to Kye, she hesitantly reaches for it, unsure if the sight in it is truly what she wants to see. Bringing it up to her face, the first thing she realizes is that her eyes are now a bright, fiery brown, bordering on orange. Her boring, dark brown eyes had become bright, much to her shocked delight. The second thing she notices are the features on her face. She _had_ become older. Without even needing a second glance, the change is evident – her face had become longer, her jaw had become sharper, her nose had gone higher and her lips had gone thinner.

And the last thing she notices – the 'strange' thing that had Aedan so bothered – are the strange, sharp objects protruding from the sides of her head.

"Are these—" A gasp escapes her lips. She drops the shard and reaches up to grab the horn sticking out of her head. It feels tough and sharp. "I have horns?!"

Aedan hesitates, pocketing the shard that Kye had dropped. "They started growing the minute you fell unconscious. They finally stopped about noon yesterday, remaining that size until now."

"But— But why do I have—" Kye can't find the appropriate words to express her emotions. She grips both horns with both hands, searching the remaining skin on her head for signs of other abnormalities. Behind her larger horns there were two skinnier, smaller horns, which both twisted and curled around the firsts like veins.

"We've spent hours wondering what they could be. What they could mean." Aedan says. "No Earthling or Thedasian have ever experienced such a transformation in their lives. Or, none that we know, at least. According to many, your horns resemble those on a... Qunari."

Qunari.

Kye's heart skips a beat.

"A Qunari." She whispers, finally removing her hands from the strange protruding bones on her head. "I'm a Qunari?"

Aedan narrows his gaze, and says, "No. Your anatomy is so obviously human. The only feature about you that links you to the Qunari are the horns."

This doesn't make any sense. How can she have the horns of a Qunari when she's human? And why did they only start growing two days ago? Why didn't she have them when she first woke? Which brings about a bigger question; Are all Earthlings – people who've arrived in Thedas from Earth – human? Or could they have woken up in the form of an elf or dwarf or, hell, Qunari as well? She shelves the question, when she realizes Evelyn's nowhere to be fond.

"Evelyn—"

"She is safe." Aedan reassures her, touching her arm gently. "She wanders the garden due North the tower, saying she needed some time to unwind and accept the whole thing."

Kye raises an eyebrow. "A garden in this desert? Is that even possible?"

Aedan chuckles, and stands to grab a jug of water sitting on the table opposite Kye's bed. It reminds her of the elf who scampered off at her wake. "Because this tower has become a Grey Warden post, we invited mages, several weeks ago, to enchant the drying gardens, so that our vegetation could grow properly. We needed food and herbs alike, and that can only be reached through means outside conventional traditions, given our current location."

"An enchanted garden." Kye says, smirking, just slightly. "I bet Evelyn loves that."

"She seems mighty fond of it ever since she stumbled upon its location hours after you fell unconscious." Aedan pauses, his voice reducing to a hushed whisper. "She says it reminds her of the landscape on Earth. She speaks much of it."

He pours a glass of water for her, and hands it to her after coming back. She takes it, and sips it chastely, before chugging the whole glass down, throwing her head back in the process. Her throat burns as she rehydrates.

"Tell me of Earth. I wish to understand it."

Kye wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She stares at Aedan, long and hard, trying to figure out what he really means, before finally placing the cup down. "On Earth—" She hesitates, wondering if she should really start with such selfish news. In the end, she decides to go for it. Aedan has the right to know, right off the bat, what Dragon Age really is. What his world really means. "Our world – Earth – it has become so advanced that we control... we control stories, tales, over a flashing monitor, powered by 'electricity'. We call these tales 'games'. These games are created by— by companies, groups of people whose intelligence go far beyond average. Your world – Thedas – it's... it's a game, Aedan."

The hard steeliness on Aedan's face remains. But in his eyes, Kye can see slight doubt. "A game?"

Kye clenches her hands, and nods. "Everything in this world is all... make-believe to people from Earth. It's all created. All fabricated. It's not— It's not real."

"Not real?" Aedan takes a moment, before laughing. A spiteful, almost cruel, laugh. "How can it not be real, Kyedan? I am real, you are real! Do you understand what you're saying? Thedas is _not real_? What nonsense."

"It's not nonsense, Aedan!" Kye hesitantly swings her legs over the bed she's on, and reaches out to grab both Aedan's shoulders. Her hands drop harshly on his hard muscles, but Kye feels, shockingly, the subtle tremble on his shoulders. "I _know_ this is real. I don't know how, but it is. And— And I know this is a lot to take in. But what would I gain for lying to you? I have no reason to. On Earth— On Earth, you don't exist, Aedan. You and your world and everything in it – the magic and the Fade and the Maker Himself –only exist within the borders of a man-made object."

Aedan pulls away from her touch and stands, taking in deep breaths while simultaneously trying to calm his nerves by rubbing his palm over his forehead. He faces the open window, breathing loudly, shaking his head. Kye watches him. She watches the way he goes from stoic and confident, to dubious and anxious. If someone had told her her world was fake, she'd be reacting the same way. But probably worse. She'd call the man mad, insane, all sorts of names.

"Kyedan, your world sounds terrible." He laughs cruelly, without turning back. "I have heard little from Evelynia. She speaks of the technology on Earth. She speaks of its capabilities, of its wondrous powers that could enhance, as well as destroy. We talk long into the night as you lie unconscious in this very room, but never once has she admitted that the existence of my world was created by men for the purpose of – of a game."

"It was, at first." Kye says quickly. "But maybe not anymore. I mean, Earthlings were sucked into a tornado created by a woman from this very 'game'. If she could— If she'd breached the Veil and come into our world, that can only mean yours exist within ours as well."

Aedan shakes his head roughly. "This doesn't make any sense, Kyedan."

"I know." Kye breathes shakily.

A long pregnant silence stretches through the room. For a moment, Kye wonders if it's just her imagination – But she hears a strange clicking noise from beyond the walls that hold them. That's how bad the silence becomes.

The silence starts to speak.

"I suppose sense isn't exactly a priority." Aedan finally says, his voice soft and gentle, as if he doesn't want to scare Kye, as if he doesn't want to scare himself along with her. "Right now, all that matters is we figure out a way to get you back to your world. How it happened will come in time, as it always does. And Morrigan—" He inhales sharply, and finally, turns around. "Morrigan will have our answers."

There's a steady hardness in his eyes, a champion of confidence, evident, for Kye to see and envy, despite the desperate confusion clouding his expression. She knows the Hero of Ferelden is nothing short of brave, courageous, smart and strong – In short, he's a Paragon – but she can't help but want to see a flaw. She can't help but dig deeper past his exterior frame, for a scar, so that she doesn't feel too bad about her own weak state.

The thought is so selfish she almost doubles back with guilt.

She runs her fingers through her hair, not at all used to the feel of the rough, spiky horns sticking out of her scalp, and gets out of bed. At first, her legs, unused to the pressure, wobble and knock knees at the sudden movement. She struggles with the very idea of walking. But as she takes a few steps forward, and forces her knees to straighten up, her nerves get the hang of it, and she walks, smoothly, if not fluidly, around the room in circles.

With a sigh, she bends a knee, and presses the top of her foot against a wall, bending so that she stretches her other leg. She repeats the process with her other foot, and once done, bends down to touch her toes.

"Okay." She exclaims, straightening up. "I'm good. Let's find us some magical witch doctor."

The corner of Aedan's lip quirk – just slightly. "Not so fast, Earthling." He says, crossing his arms. "Despite your basic knowledge on hand-to-hand combat, your physical attributes are absolutely appalling. If I'd actually been planning on killing you, you and your friend would've been dead before the nugs fully roasted."

Kye rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Yeah, well, we don't exactly have fighting classes back on Earth. I mean, we do. But it's only for those who want to do it. And fighting with swords?" She laughs. "That's so medieval century."

"Yeah, well," Aedan says, mimicking Kye's tone with his voice pitched just a tad higher for added emphasis. "You're not on Earth any longer. And unless you want your head impaled on a spear, or your body smashed into a pulp by a warhammer, I suggest you learn how to fight. And quick. Who knows how long the tear will be there, until it becomes permanent."

Kye's heart starts pounding harder against her chest. Has she told anybody about how much she longs to fight the way the characters of Dragon Age do? Because she does. Very much so. "I can't just— learn how to fight. I mean— I can't even box! I took two months of it and dropped out cause I kept coming home with limp limbs."

"I'm not saying you learn off a manual. That's not how it works here in Thedas." Kye wants to add that it doesn't work like that on Earth either, but decides to keep it to herself. "You're a warrior. I saw the way you handled that sword. I saw the bravery in your eyes, the confidence in your steps. You're a warrior, and you attack recklessly, and bravely. You are two-handed. Which means that I will take the burden of training you."

Kye's eyes fly open. "_You?_" She exclaims. "The Hero of Ferelden... train _me?!_"

Aedan smiles, a defiant look in his deep blue eyes. "Before I was the Hero of Ferelden, I was the youngest heir of the Cousland family. I learned how to handle a sword from the moment I could hold one. Trust me when I say – by the time I'm done with you, you'll be battling against rows of enemies without hindrance, like a true warrior does."

She feels a stirring deep inside of her, edging her onwards, calling out to her like a Prothean beacon. She knows that she can't refuse even if she wants to. So, furrowing her brows, forcing a confident smile, and straightening her back, she breathes out a silent sigh, and says,

"Alright, Cousland. Let's see what you can turn me into."


End file.
